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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Janelle on June 9, 2003, at 19:53:45
Someone near and dear to me who is suffering from debilitating (of the "I don't want to get out of bed or do anything" nature) depression was just given Provigil by the pdoc -- I've heard the name but that is IT. Figured I'd ask here what does it do and for experiences (good and bad!) with it. Thanks.
Posted by Snoozy on June 9, 2003, at 20:19:38
In reply to What does PROVIGIL do? Experiences wanted!, posted by Janelle on June 9, 2003, at 19:53:45
Hi Janelle -
I tried Provigil a few weeks ago. It's used to treat narcolepsy and excessive daytime sleepiness. It is a stimulant - but it's not at all like the other stims. It's not scheduled like them either, probably why docs love prescribing it so much!
Here's what medline has:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a602016.html
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/203466.html
It helped me somewhat with my drowsiness, but my insurance won't cover it and I'm going through the whole appeal thing. It's very expensive, so your friend might want to make sure it's covered before making a big investment.
It's certainly not a whizz-bang type of drug - there's no immediate lift like caffeine and whatever it does is very subtle in my experience, which seems to be typical.
Posted by Caleb462 on June 9, 2003, at 21:18:09
In reply to Re: What does PROVIGIL do? Experiences wanted!, posted by Snoozy on June 9, 2003, at 20:19:38
Actually, Provigil IS scheduled - Schedule IV.
Anyway... I've had some experience with Provigil.
I've found that it increases wakefulness, if you want it to. It does not force it upon you, as it isn't terribly stimulating. I had no problem sleeping on it, even a few hours after I had taken it. It DOES reduce the tendency to get fatigued as easily... that is the main thing I noticed. However.. it really didn't help me with motivation or anything like that. Some cognition improvement, perhaps... but for the most part I still felt scatter-brained. No signifigant mood-lifting effects either.
So basically, it won't force you out of bed, but it will give you the stamina you'll need if you decide to get out of bed... see what I mean?
Oh yeah, and I find it induced dysphoria if I took extra trying to stay up all night.
Posted by Viridis on June 10, 2003, at 0:04:05
In reply to Re: What does PROVIGIL do? Experiences wanted!, posted by Caleb462 on June 9, 2003, at 21:18:09
I found Provigil stimulating, yet I could sleep well on it and felt no anxiety. I took it for ADD; my pdoc said it was "hit-or-miss". It just didn't help my concentration enough, so I moved on to Adderall, which is working much better. I found it a good motivator, so it might help with depression -- some find it to be a good AD, but it's unpredictable. It does have a low side effect profile, and so is worth a decent try.
Posted by jemma on June 10, 2003, at 11:10:46
In reply to What does PROVIGIL do? Experiences wanted!, posted by Janelle on June 9, 2003, at 19:53:45
I love my modafinil (provigil in the US). For the first time in my life I have energy and stamina, and I can stay awake all day instead of falling asleep at my desk. After about three weeks, my mood lifted considerably, and I found myself motivated to clean closets, etc, and generally get on top of the clutter in my life. I never feel drugged on it. And it seems to work well with just about every other drug, augmenting its good effects and reducing its bad ones. Tell your friend to give it time - it's the only med that has ever really gotten me out of bed in the morning.
- Jemma
Posted by pelorojo on June 10, 2003, at 13:59:02
In reply to Re: What does PROVIGIL do? Experiences wanted!, posted by jemma on June 10, 2003, at 11:10:46
thanks for your post jemma. I thought I was mistaken because my intuition tells me that my Provigil has been actually improving in effect over time. Most seem to say it wears off after a few weeks. I think my cognition and memory are improving (I've been on it 3 months) and that it's of the continuous subtle improvement type. So it's easy to take it for granted but if I weren't taking it my cognition, memory, and to some extent mood would be worse.
So for me the beneficial effects have been: cognition (ability to "think straight"), memory restoration (had been malfunctioning, presumably from the depression), increased physical and mental endurance, mild mood improvement.
That said, I agree that it doesn't have much effect on what I most hoped it would: getting me off my butt to do things in the first place. It feels like I still need a "jump start". If I can manage to get going, I'm able to keep going. It's the starting that was, and still is, the problem. As a non-doctor, I can't recommend this to others, but I occasionally take a 12 hr. Sudafed if I'm desperate. For some reason it's enough of a "spark" to get me going some days. It doesn't work for more than a day or two at a time, however, and it probably wouldn't be a good idea to take continuously (if it's a good idea to take at all) because the long-term psychological effects are unknown and if there's an interaction with other things the longer you take it the higher your risk is.
Posted by waterfall on June 12, 2003, at 19:56:01
In reply to Re: What does PROVIGIL do? Experiences wanted!, posted by pelorojo on June 10, 2003, at 13:59:02
Gotta love it. Hands down this is the best stuff I've taken over the past nine years of hit-or-miss hell. Of course, I now feel so good that I'm determined to get off the anti-depressants. I feel like I did before I started putting the children of the pharmaceutical class through college.
Posted by Jelly on June 13, 2003, at 9:15:39
In reply to Re: What does PROVIGIL do? Experiences wanted!, posted by waterfall on June 12, 2003, at 19:56:01
Here's an article I just came across this morning that describes one man's trial of Provigil. His experience is so good, it's scary.
Posted by lillabelle on June 14, 2003, at 4:40:05
In reply to Re: What does PROVIGIL do? Experiences wanted!, posted by jemma on June 10, 2003, at 11:10:46
Hi Jemma, I am feeling desperate as nothing is getting me out of bed (currently not working) and feeling generally unmotivated (procrastination big time). I am bipolar2 and Add and currently take lamictal, serzone, sulpride and trazadone. My moods are stable and I am not flat out depressed but need something for the apathy and lack of focus and flatness. Provigil?? Anything else (what are your meds?) Any and all responses supremely needed.....Lillabelle
Posted by kotsunega on June 16, 2003, at 17:42:50
In reply to Re: What does PROVIGIL do? Experiences wanted!, posted by lillabelle on June 14, 2003, at 4:40:05
> Hi Jemma, I am feeling desperate as nothing is getting me out of bed (currently not working) and feeling generally unmotivated (procrastination big time). I am bipolar2 and Add and currently take lamictal, serzone, sulpride and trazadone. My moods are stable and I am not flat out depressed but need something for the apathy and lack of focus and flatness. Provigil?? Anything else (what are your meds?) Any and all responses supremely needed.....Lillabelle
I am bipolar with ADD too. My experience with Provigil is that it didn't do a thing - very disappointing. I ended up back with Ritalin which at least has some effect. Good luck finding the right meds.
Posted by jemma on June 17, 2003, at 11:05:42
In reply to Re: What does PROVIGIL do? Experiences wanted!, posted by lillabelle on June 14, 2003, at 4:40:05
Hi Lillabelle -
Boy, I'm not surprised you're apathetic with lamictal and serzone in your cocktail. I took each of those separately, and both of them put me to sleep. Serzone just knocked me right out, and when I woke up I felt completely aimless. Mind you, they were great for anxiety. On serzone, my apartment could have caught fire and I'd have been "Oh yeah, that's kind of interesting" and gone back to reading my magazine.
I find provigil (modafinil here in Canada) great for getting me going. In the morning, when I wake up in my usual semi-comatose state, all I have to do is muster the drive to reach over to my night-table, grab a pill, and down it with a sip of water. Then I slip back into my coma for about ten minutes as I gradually start to come awake. Withing fifteen minutes, I practically spring out of bed ready to start my day - and believe me, that has NEVER happened in my life before. And when I look around my apartment, I see orderly cupboards, a sensibly well-stocked fridge, and a reasonably organized office - also a first. I can only attribute it to the modafinil.
Now, I should point out that while the modafinil gives me energy, alertness, and motivation, it doesn't do much for my ADD. In fact, it can make me a little more scattered. I was taking selegiline for my ADD, but I developed a bad side effect. So now I take wellbutrin, and if necessary, ritalin.
So here's my cocktail - I take 150 mg of modafinil in the morning, along with 200 mg of wellbutrin. At around noon, I take another 100 mg of modafinil, and 150 of wellbutrin. If I'm still having trouble focusing, I take 20 mg of ritalin sr. I never have trouble sleeping, and I never experience anxiety - my chronic dysthymia makes me VERY anergic. My diagnosis is bipolar 1 (mostly with major atypical depression), ADD, and dysthymia. At the moment, I seem to be doing pretty well with all three.
I should add that one perq of the modafinil is that it can make you functional even after a few hours sleep. Also, if you find you're taking too much - insomnia, anxiety, whatever - you can cut back without any repercussions. Every once in a while I realize that I've been going several days on 6-7 hours sleep - my body is used to 9-10. So I cut back for a day to give myself the luxury of a 10-hour sleep, and wake up feeling truly rested. But now the 10 hours is a luxury, not a curse.
Good luck, Lillabelle - I'm sure the right meds are out there for us all.
- Jemma
> Hi Jemma, I am feeling desperate as nothing is getting me out of bed (currently not working) and feeling generally unmotivated (procrastination big time). I am bipolar2 and Add and currently take lamictal, serzone, sulpride and trazadone. My moods are stable and I am not flat out depressed but need something for the apathy and lack of focus and flatness. Provigil?? Anything else (what are your meds?) Any and all responses supremely needed.....Lillabelle
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